U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,795 discloses long-chain alpha, omega-di-carboxylic acids and derivatives for the treatment of obesity, hyperlipidemia and maturity-onset diabetes. US2002049345 discloses carboxylic acids and derivatives thereof, compositions comprising them for the treatment of obesity, hyperlipidemia and maturity onset diabetes. US2009018199 discloses methods for administering 3,3,14,14-tetramethyl hexadecane-1,16-dioic acid for lowering LDL, VLDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin resistance and hypertension, and methods for elevating HDL in subjects in need thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,385 provides a pharmaceutical composition containing at least one alpha-halogenated dicarboxylic acid. U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,896 relates to alpha, omega-dicarboxylic acids and uses thereof as anti-diabetic agents and for lowering the level of plasma lipids. US2002037876 relates to carboxylic acids and derivatives thereof for use in the treatment of metabolic syndrome X.
Isotopes are atoms which have nearly identical properties but which have different masses due to changes in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen with a nucleus comprising one neutron and one proton. Kinetic isotope effects are the observed changes in the rate of reaction that occur when deuterium is substituted for hydrogen. Deuterium isotope effects result from the greater energy required to break a covalent bond to deuterium versus a covalent bond to hydrogen. One of the challenges of incorporating deuterium into a pharmaceutical composition is the possibility of deuterium/hydrogen exchange within the physiological environment, eviscerating the effect of the compound. Further, when deuterium retards metabolism at one site, “metabolic shunting” can occur where the suppression of one metabolic pathway promotes metabolism at another site.